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One view of Great American Politics

Month: December 2016

I enjoy the Amazon Prime show Grand Tour. It is basically a rehash of the old BBC show Top Gear. The difference between the shows, besides TG reversing into GT is the method of media delivery, and the lack of commercials.

The show is about three old guys talking about the differences in cars, roads, types of transportation, culture etc. Most of the time it comes down to which car is fastest. Then there is some sort of race or test. Oh,, they are also not afraid to talk about politics.

Even though the Grand Tour is about talking about cars, there is a segment called conversation street. That’s talking about current events that effect cars. Or would that be talking about talking about cars. Anyway it’s pretty humorous, as it gets pretty far flung.

So what’s this got to do with politics, nothing. Most folks don’t talk about politics. They are still recovering from the election. So how about planes trains and automobiles.

My life is good. When I go to work I go from my kitchen directly to an insulated garage. I then get in my car and push a button and the garage door opens. I open and close that door a lot. Well I opened and closed the door so many times that it broke the spring . So today I went to Home Depot to get new springs for the door.

The Trump campaign county chair and her husband were there shopping at Home Depot too. She asked if I wanted to go to the inaugural. I replied that I hadn’t thought much about it, time and money you know. But I do think it will be an Historic event. She said there will be thousands of protesters, and Donald would like to have the county chairs and other volunteers there. Also she said it would be a couple hundred bucks. I asked if I could go via Amtrak, she said the Vermonter would take me 1500 feet from the destination. So I said I would consider it, and talk it over with my wife. Of course I think Trump will be great, so she has my wheels turning whilst I think about it.

So I returned home and resumed my chores. The good news is that I have fixed the garage door. When I go to work tomorrow morning, I can get in my car without going outside in the dark cold windy morning. Then I can push a button and the garage door will open. Not everybody can do that. Life is good.

I am perplexed by the UN resolution introduced by New Zealand and others as a gift to Israel for Hanukkah. The resolution appears to be a legal bias for the final solution. I can understand the Arab support for the resolution, for it is what they most desire. But New Zealand? I did not realize that New Zealand is an Arab state.

Netanyahu blames Obama for the resolution. Of course we cannot trust the media to tell us the real story. So I searched for some of the text to the resolution. Apparently the resolution condemns all settlement activity in lands claimed by the Palestine State. Israel says some of these lands were never occupied by Palestinian. In my view all of Israel is pretty much a settlement.

Not that I know much about Islam, but Mohammed was a warrior. He did not like Jews. Neither did Hitler. The thought just gives me shivers just thinking about it.

Apparently Palestine convinced the UN to outlaw Israel, and we are OK with it. I can see why people are upset.

Clement Moore in his 1823 poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas brought us the Christmas that we know today. As a Christian holiday Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ. Without getting to deep into religious meanings, we humans aren’t perfect. However on Christmas we all try to emulate the perfection of Christ. The Saint known as Nicholas was born March 15, 270 in Myra Turkey, among other things he was known for for giving gifts.

Clement Moore, an expert in ancient literature, introduced the Stylish Saint Nick to America. I can only assume that gift giving is one way to emulate the perfection of Christ.

The last line of the poem is “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night”.

I spend most of my days welding in a machine that holds both my wrists and head in a fixed position. I call it my stockade, though other folks may call it a pillory or pranger. I weld with a laser, and make devices that make people better. Because of this I spend my days alternating between the ecstatic joy of creation and the terror of claustrophobic restraint.

A most interesting phenomenon of my job is on the shortest day of the year a beam of sunlight comes through a distant window and passes a single doorway and into my eye at precisely quitting time. This is just as the sun is setting and it is the only time I could possibly see the sun all year from my awkward perch. Additionally there are only a couple of small windows in a rather large building, and the beam of light has to travel a long distance to reach me. Somewhat ironically on the darkest day of the year, when I go to work in the dark, and return home in twilight, I see the light.

I find this strangely reassuring. The earth rotates predictably around the sun. The calendar works and the math adds up. Life is good. So that brings me to politics, I would have faced the same machine and the same sun no matter who won the election. The day wouldn’t have been much different either way. From what I read, the Hillary supporters had a really rough day. Unfortunately I really have nothing to say. I reserve my emotions for my machine. It has a much greater impact on me, for it is what I do. That’s my job, and it provides for me. I probably only write ten percent of my thoughts in this blog, for I have better things to do with my time. But I do write to try and organize my thoughts. Plus writing brings a feeling of satisfaction.

There is reassuring satisfaction to writing, it is like seeing the light. The world goes around, the sun rises and sets. There is light and dark. I use light to make people better.

I usually do a Facebook post on Tuesday. Essentially put my political two cents in on the day of the week we traditionally vote. Well this past Tuesday I forgot. I found something better to do!

John Fitzgerald Kennedy famously asked not what your country can do for you. But what can you do for your country. So I am educating myself by learning Solid Works. As a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association I am allowed to have a student license to Solid Works. There is a tutorial in the software, so hopefully I can teach myself.

Solid Works is a tool that is essentially made of light. It is just one of many tools that will build the future. Almost all things manufactured use Solid Works one way or another. A digital compass for contemporary era.

When I see Trump on TV I cannot help but look at his hair. It’s so expressive. So what will happen to his hair? Will it all fall out? Will it go gray? Will it be artificially enhanced? The presidency is so hard on the hair.

So what will Donald do with his hair? Will his hair be immortal? Or maybe he could wear a hat, again.